US president says ‘Project Freedom’ suspended to see whether an agreement with Iran can be finalised and signed.United States President Donald Trump has said that the US military operation to move stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz has been paused temporarily.Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listHe said the decision was made “based on the request” of Pakistan and other countries and the “fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement” with representatives of Iran.“We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” he wrote.There was no immediate comment from Iran.Trump’s announcement came as tensions escalate in the Gulf, with the US military saying it had destroyed several Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz as well as cruise missiles and drones. The United Arab Emirates said its air defences dealt with missile and drone attacks from Iran for a second day while another commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz reported being hit by an “unknown projectile”.For its part, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a new map of the Strait of Hormuz with an expanded area of Iranian control and warned vessels on Tuesday to stick to the corridors it had set or face a “decisive response”.In W …
